The present invention relates to food products and more particularly to pre-sweetened breakfast cereals.
Pre-sweetened breakfast cereals have been regularly available to the consumer for several years. Such cereals have been prepared by first producing unsweetened cereal pieces, coating the cereal pieces with a sucrose slurry and drying the coated pieces in an oven or air current.
Cereal pieces are typically prepared by cooking a cereal dough, shaping the dough into pellets or flakes and puffing or toasting the shaped dough.
One approach for preparing breakfast cereal flakes is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,161,323. A grain material such as corn grits is combined with salt, cane sugar and water. The combination is heated in a steam-tight cooker thereby cooking the grain material. The cooked grains are partially dried and then passed between spaced, smooth-surfaced flaking rolls. The resulting flakes are puffed by baking or roasting.
In other instances whole kernels of grain have been puffed to provide a breakfast cereal. U.S. Pat. No. 1,266,448 shows such a process in which rice kernels are soaked in water for approximately 36 hours. The kernels are then subjected to heat until the kernel surface is dried. The dried kernels are popped in a popper much like popcorn.
A further process for preparing ready-to-eat breakfast cereals is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,453,115. Cereal dough is prepared from any of various cereals such as corn, wheat, barley, or oats. The dough is pressure cooked and pelletized. The pellets are partially dried to provide case hardening and then flaked between rolls.
The various ready-to-eat breakfast cereals have been sweetened by coating the finished cereal pieces with either noncrystalline sugar or crystalline sugar. In each instance, the sugar has been sucrose. One advantageous process for preparing a ready-to-eat pre-sweetened cereal is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 3,615,676. The previous unsweetened cereals have had the disadvantage that table sugar, which is added to the cereal and milk mixture at the time of eating, in fact is added in excess and remains in the bottom of the cereal bowl after the cereal has been consumed. The pre-sweetened cereals overcome such disadvantage and provide an appropriate amount of sugar which is not wasted. The pre-sweetened coated cereals, however, have been limited to cereals having a sucrose sweetening agent.
It is desirable to have a cereal presweetened with sweetening agents such as fructose which are normally in a liquid state. Illustrative sweetening agents of this type are honey and/or corn syrup. Such coatings have not been previously suitable since the liquid sweeteners result in a sticky, messy product. Also, such coated cereals are at best extremely difficult to dehydrate to a solid non-adhesive state.